The Los Angeles Lakers are in an interesting situation. LA is extremely banged up right now and is going to continue to play without LeBron James and Anthony Davis for quite some time. Even when the two do return, there should be concerns of them being ample to ramp up quickly enough for the NBA Playoffs.
Many expected the Lakers to make a move at the deadline because of it. Not only would a move have helped the Lakers from free-falling down the Western Conference standings, but it would have fixed some holes for the team once LeBron and Davis do return.
This is far from a perfect basketball team and even before LeBron and AD were injured there were roster needs that needed to be addressed.
But the Los Angeles Lakers did nothing at the trade deadline.
There were moves that could have been made. Victor Oladipo was traded for extremely cheap and the Lakers could have easily put together a package that was better than Miami’s. Kyle Lowry was on the table at one point and there was also speculation of the team going after players such as George Hill, or Nemanja Bjelica (who was traded for pennies).
The Lakers were limited, yes, but there still was a move to be made to improve the team and they simply did not do so. Not only does that make this trade deadline disappointing, but when you look at the grand scheme of things, it is clear that the Lakers might be the biggest losers of the deadline.
Let’s break down why.